Hanging in the Balance
by Christine Writer
Summary: Rory's life is in the balance. Full summary inside. R&R, maybe Christian Content. K plus for violence.
1. Dean

A/N: Season 5, Episode 8: "The Party's Over." Post Yale Male Party. Dean gets angry. I own nothing!

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"Hi, Dean." Rory exited the front door of the senior Gilmores' house slightly tipsily. She was adorned in three forms of diamonds, and clothed in a sleek, black dress.

"Hi." he greeted her flatly.

"I'm so sorry that I was late, but I'm here now. My grandparents," Rory gestured to the house, "are having this party. And I thought they wanted to have it for their friends, but it's a disguised plot to get me married off to a guy--any guy--from Yale"  
She smiled at him now. "But it's not up to them who is in my life, and you are in my life, and I love you. So are we good?" She looked up into his face hopefully.

"Rory, are you hearing yourself talk?" Dean asked incredulously. "They don't want you with me. Why did you put up with this party when you knew it was a ruse?"

"Well, it would have been rude to leave." Rory sighed. "I wanted to, but I couldn't."

"What, the maid and the butler tied you to a chair and made you drink and hang out with the guys from Yale?"

"Dean--"

"No, Rory. Just don't. It's obvious that you really care what they think, which I didn't think you did, but okay. You care about what they think, so I'll go. You're obviously too good for me. Should I use the servant's driveway to leave?"

"I don't want you to leave." Rory leaned against Dean. "I love you. I want you to stay. Come talk to my grandparents."

"No, Rory! I'm not going to! I'm just going to leave."

"Dean, wait!" Rory reached for his arm, but he reacted too quickly, catching her across the face with the back of his hand. She stumbled back with the impact, losing her balance off of her four inch high heels. She fell to the ground, but Dean didn't stop.

He pinned her to the ground with one hand over her mouth and beat her with the other. She screamed behind his hand, but the drinks she'd had had slowed her system, and she couldn't think straight, let alone see straight. All she could see was a white haze.

Then, all of a sudden, it stopped, and she felt nothing more.

Inside, Logan, Colin, and Finn were taking turns guessing what Rory and Dean were doing outside. The most they could come up with without sounding too gross was kissing. They then decided that they'd waited long enough for Rory to come back inside, and proceeded to go outside to find her.

What they found was Dean on top of Rory's still form, breathing hard. Blood trailed from Rory's face to Dean's hand.

"What did you do?" Logan shouted at Dean, helping Colin and Finn restrain Rory's attacker. Dean fell silent, and Finn called the police while Logan and Colin wrestled Dean to the ground and pinned him facedown to the driveway with Logan holding Dean's arms back and standing on his spine.

Colin left them to get everyone at the party's attention. Soon, Dean was on his way to jail in a police cruiser, and sooner, Rory was transported to the hospital.


	2. Logan

Rory was admitted to Hartford Memorial Hospital, the same hospital at which she was born.  
"Is Rory going to be okay?" Lorelai asked the doctor, as soon as Rory had been settled into a room in the ICU.

"It's too early to tell. Head trauma, especially so violently at such close range, is unpredictable. Only time will tell." he shook his head.

"Okay." Lorelai accepted the answer, even though she didn't want to. She returned to the waiting area, and shared the information with Luke, Logan, Emily, and Richard. Richard and Emily had just gotten there. The party guests had left quickly, wishing Rory well and helping Emily and Richard get to the hospital as fast as they could.

"Well, what can we do?" Richard asked. "I have to do something!"

"All we can do is wait, Dad." Lorelai told him. She walked to him, and he enveloped her into his arms. Just then, Logan entered the ICU waiting room to join them.

"How is Rory doing?" he asked.

"It's too early to tell, but they are telling us that it's good to go in and talk to her. She can hear what we say to her."

"Okay. I'm sorry, I know you're her mother, but--" Logan began to ask, but Lorelai cut him off.

"Could you go in first?" Lorelai finished his sentence. He nodded. "Of course. You're one of her rescuers."

Logan entered Rory's room. He took a seat by the edge of her bed. "Rory," he began, "I'm so sorry for not coming outside sooner. I'm sorry for all the trouble I've put you through, and I'm sorry that Dean hurt you tonight.

"I know that you love him, but maybe, you could consider loving me? I love you, Rory, and I would die if you don't make it through this." He rose from his seat, tears in his eyes. "Please don't die." he whispered. Rory didn't even stir. Logan left the room, left the hospital, left his car, and just walked the streets of Hartford at ten o'clock at night, wishing that he were somewhere else. 


	3. Peter

Note: I don't own anything. Also, I'm very sorry for not updating for 6 months. No inspiration! But now, I have a nice long chapter for you all!

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Logan came to visit Rory every day. He took time off from school and sat with her every moment when Lorelai was unavailable. Luke came whenever the diner was slow.

Chris was the only person who had yet to make an appearance. His own daughter was in the hospital, in a coma, and he didn't have the decency to come to the hospital to see her. Lorelai was ashamed for him, since he wouldn't answer any calls, even from Emily and Richard. The days turned into weeks, and Rory had been in the hospital for a month when Chris came to the hospital, dashing about as if he'd just heard of his daughter's hospitalization.

When Chris entered Rory's room, Luke, Lorelai, and Logan were all present. "Lor!" Chris cried, embracing her tightly. She squirmed out of his arms. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Chris, can I see you in the hallway?" Lorelai asked. He nodded. They went into the hallway, and Rory's door was barely closed when Lorelai lit into Chris.

"Chris, _why didn't you tell me_? Are you serious? I left more than twenty messages on your cell phone, your work phone, and your home phone. I even left messages with your parents and with Sherry, in case they could get through to you better than I could. My mother called you, my father called you, and truthfully, I was almost ready to bust your door down and drag you to your daughter's hospital room, but I figured a trip to Boston would be useless when I'm needed here!" Lorelai wanted to scream at him, but she kept her volume under control; they were in the ICU.

"Lor, I was angry with you. Of course I didn't listen to your messages!"

"When I've filled all three of your voicemail boxes with messages, I think that in and of itself should be a message that says, "Hey, you know, I should call Lorelai. Maybe it's important." What, did you think I was begging you to come back to me? And how did you hear to come, if you didn't listen to my messages?"

"I don't know what I thought, Lor. Sherry called me. I've been ignoring her calls, too, which wouldn't surprise you, I'm sure. She called, and I answered, and she told me about the messages you'd left with her."

"Great. But why didn't you call first? It's been a month, Chris. What if Rory had been released, or......what if she had died last night? You would've been too late." Lorelai said roughly. Chris looked as though she had slapped him.

"That's not fair. She's my daughter! Why would I have to call ahead?"

"The fact that you ignored calls from Sherry, your parents, my parents, and me would suggest that you're not her father. Sure, you fathered her, but you are not her father. Luke is more of a father to Rory than you ever were or ever will be!"

"That's low, Lorelai. Even for you."

"Chris, I am so angry right now that I really can't even process this."

"At least let me see Rory." he changed his tune, switching from angry and defensive to pleading.

"No." Lorelai stated firmly.

"Why not?"

"Chris, I have to be in there with her. I am her legal guardian until she is twenty-one. I have to be there, and if I'm there, you can't be. There can't be any negative vibes in that room, or they'll transfer to Rory. If you love Rory as much as you claim, then you'll wait to see her."

"You're just afraid that she might wake up and you won't be there but I will." Chris accused.

"That wasn't fair." Lorelai gasped.

"No, what's not fair is that you won't let me see Rory."

"Chris, leave. Please. If anything changes, you'll be the first to know, okay? As long as you answer your phone." Lorelai said icily.

"Fine." Chris fumed. He stormed out, and Lorelai gasped a sigh of relief. Luke exited Rory's room and enveloped Lorelai in his arms.

"Are you okay?" he soothed her nerves.

"I'm just scared." she wept into his trademark flannel.

"I know." he nodded. "Me too."

That afternoon, Richard's lawyer came to see Lorelai. The case against Dean had not taken much time, and court was set soon. Dean wouldn't admit he'd done anything wrong. Lorelai felt sorry for Dean, but at the same time, her only daughter was lying unconscious in the hospital. Dean had left Lindsay for Rory, and then he had destroyed her, too. Richard's lawyer spoke at length with Lorelai, briefing her about the court date and such.

The next day, a beautiful Saturday afternoon, Lorelai went to visit Dean. He appeared on the other side of the glass, and glared when he saw it was Lorelai. He sat sullenly before her, and she prompted him to pick up his end of the phone. He began to, but changed his mind and began to get up.

"Wait." she implored, and the single word from her lips stayed his hand.

"What?" he snapped into the phone.

"I don't know why I came, Dean." Lorelai admitted. "But I know that--I know that the world Rory was entering--"

"I don't need this, Lorelai. I'm in jail. Are you happy?" Dean growled sarcastically.

"Dean, hear me out. I know how you felt. I'm not strong enough to react that way, but I've been tempted. That world is stifling. I never wanted Rory to follow that path. The path my parents set for me, and by extension, her. Rory always wants to please my parents, and they love her for it. You did the whole debutante thing with Rory. You were sixteen, and Rory was up for auction at the meat market." Lorelai reminded him, and a ghost of a smile lingered for a moment on Dean's features as he remembered. The moment faded, though, and Dean's eyes lost the light they had held.

"Aren't you angry?" he asked.

"Unbelievably. And I think we can both agree, despite the fact that you won't admit it, that what you did was wrong." she ventured, and Dean nodded. "But I understand how angry you felt. I understand that. It feels like your life is being sucked out of you because you went to one too many cotillions or had to meet new people that were of "good breeding." Believe me, been there and done that. You have to understand where Rory was coming from. Do you?"

"I...I guess so. Rory's always eager to please everyone, I guess I was just jealous. I was afraid of losing her to...to that world." Dean admitted sorrowfully. "And I'm so sorry, Lorelai. If Rory d--" he broke off in sobs. "If she--"

"Nothing is going to happen to Rory, Dean." Lorelai said firmly, hoping that it would be true.

"I'm so sorry, Lorelai." Dean repeated.

"I know." she nodded.

"Where do we go from here?"

"To court." Lorelai stated simply. "Unless you admit your guilt." Dean nodded slowly, acceptingly, and ducked his head so Lorelai wouldn't see the tears streaming down his cheeks.

The next day, Richard's lawyer called Lorelai. She was at the hospital. "Dean Forrester confessed this morning." he stated. "We're going to settle out of court. He has agreed to jail time, and anger management classes."

"How long will he be in jail?"

"Ten or twelve years. Possibly longer."

"Longer?" Lorelai asked, and then realized it would be longer if Rory didn't wake up.

"Maximum, twenty years."

"Okay." Lorelai nodded, and said goodbye. She closed her cell phone, found her keys, and left Rory in the hands of Logan, Sookie, and Jackson. She told them the news, and they all knew where she had to go.

Lorelai returned to the jail to see Dean. His eyes were red, and lifeless. Unfocused. Lorelai sat near the window, and picked up the phone. Dean picked up the other end. "Thank you." Lorelai managed before tears overcame her.

"For what?" Dean asked, almost robotically.

"For saving a lot of people a lot of heartache."

"What do you mean?"

"If we had gone to court, this story would've been all over every paper between Hartford and Stars Hollow. Your parents wouldn't be able to hold their heads up in town. My parents would've been stressed out of their minds. Chris probably would've tried to kill you."

"Well, I confessed. Are you satisfied?" he asked, an edge to his tone.

"Dean, this isn't about satisfaction. Nothing's ever going to be the same as it was before. I just wanted to thank you."

"You did. Goodbye." he said flatly. He got up and left, and Lorelai followed suit.

That night, Dean was in his cell when his cellmate returned. "Hi." the man smiled at Dean.

"Hey." Dean returned the greeting, a little confused. Why was his cellmate talking to him? They hadn't had much interaction since Dean's imprisonment.

"I'm Peter." the man introduced himself. Dean hesitated. Didn't Peter already know his name?

"I'm Dean." Dean finally said. Peter nodded.

"Why are you here?" Peter asked suddenly. Dean was surprised at the wording. Most people had asked him what he did, or what he was in for, but none had asked in that way.

"I was angry at my girlfriend and I...I hit her."

"Once?"

"No." Dean admitted guiltily.

"Is she okay?"

"No." Tears came to Dean's eyes. "She's in a coma."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Peter shook his head genuinely.

"Why are you here?" Dean returned the question to Peter.

"I did the same thing, almost fifteen years ago."

"Is she okay?"

"No." Peter said sorrowfully. "I...killed her. I beat her senseless, because I was angry with her. She had gotten saved at a Christian concert, and she came home different. She wanted to move out, and she drew the line physically. She stopped giving into kisses, hugs, and stuff. I thought she was crazy, but I still loved her.

"We had the mother of all fights that night. She had her things packed, and she was ready to move to her friend's apartment. I verbally attacked her, taunting her choice of religion. I did things that night that are unspeakable. She tried to leave, but I pinned her to the floor with my hand and beat her with the other one. She lost consciousness, and by the time the ambulance came, she was dead. I was arrested, and was sentenced to twenty-five years. I got saved shortly after my sentence began, and it helped me. I confessed all of my sins to God, and He forgave me. I know that despite the wrongs I have done, God still loves me."

Dean was speechless. "God...doesn't care that you killed someone?" he managed. This didn't sound like the God he had heard about before.

"No, he cares very much that I killed Emma, but he has forgiven me. He wiped my slate clean, as it were. And I'm so glad that He did."

"Would you pray for Rory?" Dean asked, tears filling his eyes. "I don't want her to die."

"Yes, I will pray for her," Peter nodded, "but you should pray for her, too."

"Why would God listen to me?"

"Because He loves you."

"I probably killed Rory. How can God forgive that? And she was drunk. Defenseless."

"Rory was as defenseless as Emma was. But Rory still has hope. Where there's life, there's hope. And you can pray for Rory's healing."

"What do I have to do to get what you have? The peace?"

"Pray with me." Peter said, and Dean nodded. They bowed their heads and closed their eyes. "Lord Jesus," Peter prayed, "I know I'm a sinner, and I know that you have died on the cross for my sins, past, present, and future. I know that you were crucified, died, and were buried, and you rose again from the dead on the third day. I believe you will return one day, and when I die, I'll be with you forever." Dean repeated the prayer, and immediately felt hope spring up in his heart.

"Welcome to the family of God!" Peter grinned, with tears in his eyes.

"Thanks, Peter." Dean smiled.


	4. Lorelai

Over the next few weeks, Dean prayed day and night for Rory to wake up. He desperately wanted to see her smile, to apologize. He wanted to take her in his arms and give her the love she deserved. He shook these thoughts from his head one afternoon. He might see her smile, and he would definitely apologize, if she ever woke up. The unreachable wish was to hold her in his arms, tenderly, the way he was supposed to. Tears came to his eyes. He knew that God would forgive him if Rory never woke up, but he wasn't sure he could forgive himself.

Lorelai came to see him again. Rory had been moved home, with a private care nurse. It had been a couple of months since the incident, but Lorelai hadn't seen Dean since he had made the plea bargain. "Hey." she said into the phone.

"Hi." he half-smiled at her.

"How are you?" she asked.

"I'm great." Dean answered honestly. This surprised Lorelai, and Dean could tell. "A few weeks ago, I got saved."

"Like, honest-to-goodness Bible thumping, baptism baptizing, born-again, end of the world stuff?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah." Dean nodded. "And I've been praying for Rory every day."

"I've been praying for her, but I don't know if I'm praying to the right God. How did you know?"

"What?"

"That the God you pray to is the right God?"

"Well, the Bible makes sense, creation makes sense, and it all makes sense! It all adds up, Lorelai, and it's so amazing!" Dean's eyes held a light they hadn't for months.

"This is going to sound crazy, but I've never seen you like this, Dean." Lorelai admitted. "And I want the peace that you have. How do I get that?" Dean proceeded to tell her the entire story, from creation all the way through to Christ's death on the cross. He told her about the women in Christ's genealogy, and all about Ruth and Boaz.

"I never knew all of this. I just thought Christians were judgemental highbrows who wanted to condemn everyone else to Hell."

"That's the last thing that we want to do." Dean assured her. "But when the truth is spoken in love, people don't like it, because it makes them feel convicted. And that's the Holy Spirit at work."

"How can I be saved?"

"Acts 16:31 says, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.' I'll say the prayer, and you repeat it after me." Dean told Lorelai, and she nodded. "Lord Jesus, I know I'm a sinner. I know that you died on the cross for me, and that you rose again on the third day. I know that you paid for my sins. Thank you for that. I love you, and want you to be Lord of my life. Come into my heart to stay. Amen." Lorelai repeated the simple prayer, and immediately, she felt a calming presence wash over her.

"Thank you." she told Dean, with tears in her eyes. "Thank you."

"And I'm sorry, Lorelai. I'm so sorry." Dean apologized once again.

"I forgive you." she smiled through her tears. "I understand, and I forgive you."

"Thank you." Dean said gratefully.

"I'll see you later." she said. "I have to go see Rory."

"Tell her I love her?" he asked. She nodded.

"I will." she promised, and departed.

Lorelai returned to the house and found Logan and Chris sitting with Rory. Logan was asleep in one chair, and Chris was sitting by Rory's side. Lorelai motioned for Chris to come into the kitchen. He complied, and braced himself for another argument.

Once in the kitchen, Chris began his defense. "I'm sorry, Lor, I just had to see her."

"It's okay, Chris." Lorelai said. "I'm sorry for keeping you from her."

"What?" he asked, confused.

"Will you forgive me?"

"Of course." Chris nodded. "What brought about this change?"

"Well, I went to see Dean today."

"What did that punk want?" Chris asked sharply.

"Among other things, he wanted forgiveness. And I forgave him."

"You forgave him?" Chris asked incredulously.

"Yes. He asked for my forgiveness, and I gave it to him." Lorelai nodded.

"Why?"

"Because he's sorry for what he did. He knows it was wrong, and he's sorry."

"Sorry doesn't cover Rory being in a coma."

"Yes, it does."

"No, it doesn't! Sorry is if....if he was late to something, or if he said something mean. Sorry certainly doesn't reach this."

"Why not, Chris?" Lorelai asked.

"It just doesn't!"

"Chris, calm down." Lorelai told him.

"I wish that kid wasn't in jail, so I could beat him up myself. Give him a taste of his own medicine."

"Chris, if you don't forgive Dean, it won't affect him so much as it will you. It will eat at you, and you can't do anything about it. Dean is in jail. He's paying for what he did wrong. If you ask me, that's more mature than anything you ever did."

"I paid dearly for my mistakes, Lor." Chris snapped. "You know that. I gave up college, a career, and a life."

"I'm sorry, Chris, but a life? A life that you were running away from. College that you didn't want to attend. A career you never wanted." Lorelai pointed out. "And since when was Rory ever a mistake?"

"I didn't mean it like that."

"Yes, you did, Chris. You did. Now, please leave. You can come see Rory when I'm not here, but please don't come when I am. I can't deal with that right now, okay?" she asked sadly. "I wish I could deal with it, but I just can't."

"Fine." Chris sighed. "Let me know when it's convenient for you to avoid me." And with that, he gathered his jacket from Rory's room and departed.


	5. Rory

In Chris's wake, Logan woke. Lorelai explained to him what Dean had led her in earlier, and he thought about it for a while, and finally realized that all those years he'd been making fun of Christians, he had been jealous of the peace they'd had. He wanted that peace and asked Christ into his heart that day.

Chris returned to the hospital that night, and while Lorelai was gone, Logan was still present. He told Chris what Lorelai had told him, and Chris laughed. "Is this a joke? Lorelai? A Christian? You--a Christian. Very funny, Logan. You almost got me."

"I'm serious." Logan said.

"Really?" Chris asked.

"Serious as a heart attack." Logan nodded.

"And where did Lorelai get all of this knowledge?"

"From Dean."

"And then she forgave him?" Chris mocked.

"Yes, and I'm going to see Dean tomorrow to do the same."

"Why? Dean doesn't deserve forgiveness."

"None of us do." Logan shook his head. "But Christ forgave us. Why can't we do the same to the people around us?"

"And this crazy religion, you're not a god or anything. What's the use of that?"

"Nope. I'm a plain old human being, and that's cool with me. The whole idea is that we must be humble, and God will raise us up."

"You? Humble?"

"I'm going to have to work on that one, but I'm trying." Logan nodded. "Humility doesn't run very deep in my family."

Suddenly, a movement from the bed caught both mens' eyes. Rory was awake! She groaned as she struggled to open her eyes. Chris called for a nurse while Logan placed his hand over Rory's eyes, coaxing her to keep them closed for a moment. "It's okay." he told her. "I'm here."

Her eyes sprung open. She tried to fight his hand away from her, and he withdrew it quickly so she wouldn't disconnect anything. Instantly, he realized: the last hand Rory remembered touching her face had been Dean's. Rory's eyes focused, and landed on Logan, who looked stricken. "Logan." Rory whispered.

"Shh....it's okay. You're okay."

"Where am I?"

"You're home, in your room. You're going to be fine."

"How long was I out?" she asked. Why wasn't she in her bed, but still in her room? She didn't remember what Logan had been wearing the night of the party, but she was pretty sure he hadn't been wearing a tee shirt, jeans, and two days worth of scruff on his face.

"Quite a few weeks." Logan said. "You were moved home a few days ago, from the hospital."

"And Dean....?" she was almost afraid to ask.

"He's in jail. He admitted his guilt and was sentenced to twelve years, I think, in prison." Tears burned Rory's eyes, and Logan wiped them away gently.

Soon, Rory was on her way to recovery. She had retained no brain damage, miraculously. Lorelai and Logan were telling her about their amazing revelations and salvation one day, when Chris came back.

"Don't listen to that nonsense." Chris told Rory, striding into her room. "They were just brainwashed when this whole mess started. Dean "led them to Christ." They "forgave him." Isn't that rich?" he sneered.

"Actually, it makes sense." Rory reasoned. Chris looked surprised. "I mean, they've been here every day and night, praying for me, and making sure I'm okay. This is the first time I've seen you since before the night of the party. And I'm supposed to believe you, rather than them?"

"Come on, Rory. You've made fun of Christianity your whole life."

"So have Logan and Mom. So what?"

"It's a great track record." Chris grinned. "If you continue, you'll beat your mom."

"Unlike your track record with me." Rory pointed out.

"Hey. Don't even bring that up." Chris almost growled.

"Dad, I love you, but you need to be quiet. I was just about to ask Mom to lead me in prayer so I can have what she and Logan have. You're welcome to stay, and even more to pray with us, but I need to do this."

When Chris saw he wasn't able to convince her, he left without a word. Lorelai led Rory in prayer, and soon, Rory was also a daughter of God. Rory went the same day to see Dean. She forgave him, and many tears were shed, both of cleansing, and of joy. They prayed for Chris, and somehow knew, in their hearts, that one day, he would listen.

THE END

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A/N: Thanks so much for reading this story! I love you all, and I am praying for you! God Bless!


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